Image Revamp a Priority for Congress

The image of the Congress party, which heads the ruling coalition, has been tarnished by a slew of corruption cases.

Rebuilding its battered image with an eye on upcoming elections is the top priority for India’s ruling Congress party, whose senior leaders are meeting in the desert city of Jaipur this weekend.

Top party officials – including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, touted as a possible prime ministerial candidate – are gathering there for a three-day meeting starting Friday. Also in attendance are several cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Defense Minister A.K. Anthony and Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.

The key priority for the party will be to revamp its image as it prepares to contest general elections next year. Congress spokesman Rashid Alvi told India Real Time the Congress party would analyze if the party’s image has suffered as a result of corruption allegations – which it denies being involved it – among other topics.

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“This is a do or die situation for the Congress party. It has a very short time in hand to try and rebuild its image before the general elections and comments coming out from the meeting will indicate what the party intends to do going forward,” said Chintamani Mahapatra a professor of political science at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University.

The image of the Congress party, which heads the ruling coalition, has been tarnished by a slew of corruption cases, including allegations related to the allocation of telecom bandwidth and coal blocks, as well as in the organization of the Commonwealth Games in 2010. A former minister, a Congress leader and top government officials were among those arrested for the alleged scandals, though they are currently out on bail. Trials in the telecom and Commonwealth Games cases are ongoing while that in the coal blocks case is yet to start. The government and the Congress party have denied any wrong doing.

“The corruption cases haven’t gone anywhere. So, unless they take some dramatic steps, chances in the general elections are bleak,” argued Mr. Mahapatra, suggesting tough action against any ministers or members linked to corruption allegations.

Congress party leaders will also discuss ways to improve the country’s economic situation, as growth has dramatically slowed over the past year to below 5.5% levels – the slowest pace of growth in a decade.

Other topics include the party’s loss in the recent state elections in Gujarat, and its victory in Himachal Pradesh, Mr. Alvi said. The party will look closely at the shape of its current coalition and possible new allies in the run up to the 2014 general elections.

The party is also set to discuss the issue of women’s safety, in the aftermath of the gangrape and death of a 23-year- old woman last month in Delhi, an incident that sparked widespread outrage.

Congress members will also discuss India-Pakistan ties, which took a turn for the worse in recent weeks, said Mr. Alvi. Last week, India blamed the killing and mutilation of two Indian soldiers in the disputed region of Kashmir on Pakistan, which has denied this allegation.

Mrs. Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mr. Singh are expected to address the meeting on Jan. 19, Mr. Alvi said. Experts expect them to indicate the direction the party will take in upcoming state and general elections.

Given the damage to its image, some Congress members say the party could explore a scenario of it supporting a coalition of smaller parties – like it did between 1996 and 1998 – if it performs badly in the 2014 polls. Parties such as the Janata Dal (United) and the Biju Janata Dal could be targets for the Congress-led coalition, more so if the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party presents controversial Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate. Both parties oppose his possible candidature over allegations he did not do enough to stop deadly rioting in his state in 2002. Mr. Modi has said he did nothing wrong.

But the Hindu rightwing BJP is not much better off.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party is in a confused state itself, with its party leader himself facing allegations of corruption and many aspirants for the prime ministerial candidate,” said Sanjay Kumar, a political analyst with the Center for Study of Developing Societies, a Delhi-based research institute.

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India Real Time offers analysis and insights into the broad range of developments in business, markets, the economy, politics, culture, sports, and entertainment that take place every single day in the world’s largest democracy. Regular posts from Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires reporters around the country provide a unique take on the main stories in the news, shed light on what else mattered and why, and give global readers a snapshot of what Indians have been talking about all week. You can contact the editors at indiarealtime(at)wsj(dot)com.